Schumer Predicts Monthlong Senate Immigration Debate

McCain, left, and Schumer spoke of their immigration legislation at a Wednesday morning breakfast.

“Last night we started measuring some of the biggest issues. The parameters for measuring when the border is secure and how to deal with the 11 million to gain citizenship, given that there are so many and our colleagues want to make sure that they are not treated any better having crossed the border illegally than people who waited in line,” Schumer said. “We made huge progress.”

McCain said it’s important that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is part of this effort.

“I think it’s important and I think it’s helpful,” McCain said. “Marco Rubio represents a very large state with a lot of Latino voters.”

“His family came from Cuba and he understand the issues confronting people who came to this country legally or illegally as well as anyone,” he said.

Asked if it would help Rubio, who may have aspirations to run for president in 2016, politically, McCain said, “What I’ve found in my political life, if you do the right thing it always ends up OK. If you do something for political reasons, in my experience, and I have done that, it’s turned out badly,” McCain said, who ran a failed campaign for president in 2008. “So, I think that Marco Rubio is doing the right thing.”